The following relates to an apparatus and method to detect hazardous or illegal contraband hidden within shipping, delivery, mail, or postal packages for analysis and defense without fully unsealing the packages by probing the interior with airflow and collecting concentrated sample particles.
According to US Department of Justice guide (NIJ Guide 101-00), most of the well known biological weapon agents such as, anthrax, Brucellosis, Tularemia, Cholera, Glanders, Melioidosis, Plague, Marburg Virus, Smallpox Virus, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, Ebola Virus, Q Fever, Botulinum Toxin, Staphylococcal enterotoxin B, Tricothecene mycotoxins, and Ricin could take aerosol form. The agency further states, “The primary infection route from exposure to biological agents is through inhalation.”
During the year 2001, envelopes containing anthrax spores were sent via the US Postal Service. The cutaneous form of anthrax spores caused havoc as it infected people who came in direct contact with the hazardous powder. However, the inhalation form of anthrax spores caused even greater fear and devastation, as the fine airborne spores randomly contaminated nearby packages and killed indiscriminately and capriciously. Moreover, the inhalation form was much deadlier than the cutaneous form, as many died even with antibiotic treatments.
Soon afterward, the fear of other biological agents and envelopes containing non-toxic materials preyed on the fear. Although no one suffered illness or death, the “hoax-envelopes” flood was nearly as effective in terrorizing the public and consuming valuable resources as the real biological attacks, since every incident had to be treated like the real thing.
In response, the US Government irradiated mail packages bound for various government agencies and certain targeted private sectors. Even after a three billion dollars budget was allotted and nearly a year had past since the incidents, the majority of the mail packages sent to the general public have yet to be irradiated or otherwise protected.
Some reasons for this are that the irradiation is an expensive process, it takes a long time to implement, and it alone cannot pinpoint the contaminated or hoax mail. Additionally, the possibility of infection among those unfortunate postal workers prior to irradiation at a central processing unit can be tragic. Also, the irradiated mail may cause health problems for the recipients. Many congressional workers had complained of headache, nose bleeding, diarrhea, and other ailments. As a result, many members of the public oppose and fear the irradiation process.
The irradiated mail must be stored for several days to lower the level of radiation, which delays delivery and incurs storage cost. No clear procedure exists to avoid irradiation products that can be damaging, destructive, or even more harmful if they are exposed to massive doses of radiation, such as electronic devices, film, glass, and food items.
Exposing metal to ionizing radiation can induce radioactivity if enough of it collects on the surfaces. There's a lot of metal in the mailroom in the form of binders, paperclips, and pens, not to mention all of the consumer products containing metal that are routinely shipped via the U.S. Postal Service that could cause such an exposure. Additionally, the irradiation needs nuclear materials to keep it operating. Transporting radioactive material, improper worker safety, and environmental contamination from leaks, spills, or other mishaps can lead to disasters. Yet another concern is that a terrorist may attack the irradiation facility, transport, or storage to obtain the irradiated material to create a “dirty bomb.”
In summary, the effectiveness of the process may be exaggerated. A New Jersey official described some of the challenges in a memo. “After much discussion about the penetration of the electron beam,” she wrote, “it was determined that the package would have to be turned over and run through irradiator a second time. The problem is that the spores in the envelopes would presumably fall to the bottom by gravity, thus avoiding the beam for both passes.”
Another patent pending idea by Gary Mize called “Bio-safe Mailbox” uses time released toxins like chlorine dioxide or methyl bromide in a mailbox prior to pick up. This idea also suffers many of the problems associated with irradiation. The toxins that are used to destroy the biological agents are dangerous chemicals themselves, are probably only effective against a limited few biological agents, and are ineffective against chemical toxic agents. Moreover, reconfiguring every mailbox to release and recycle these chemicals could be not only very expensive, but also potentially harmful, as toxins may be released to the environment. Not to mention that these processes can be thwarted easily, using lead foils to block the irradiation and airtight package can stop the decontaminants.
The danger to the public using delivery service, however, is not new. Long before the biochemical terrorism, illegal contrabands such as bombs, poisons, illegal drugs, and the like have been sent using US Postal mail.
Available technologies like Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS), vapor detection, gas chromatograph, reactive chemicals, or similar processes have had only limited use for detecting hazards and contraband inside delivery packages, because collecting concentrated content samples from a sealed container proves to be difficult.
X-ray and swab collection method, often used in airports, would be ineffective, too costly, and time consuming to use for delivery services due to high volumes. Tens of millions of letters and packages that are sent by delivery services per day cannot be individually viewed and swabbed.
A better sample collection and concentration apparatus and method must be utilized, if advanced analytic technologies are to be implemented.